Jackson Free Press

Best Neighborhood Bar, Best Place to Drown Sorrows, Best Open-Mic Night: Fenian's (901 East Fortification St., 948-0055)
Not to split hairs, but doesn't a drinking establishment need people living around it to be called a neighborhood bar? By that criterion it's no wonder Fenian's Irish Pub beats the rest of the Jackson pack. There just aren't that many true neighborhood joints in this town. As lovingly faithful to its origins as the new Cherokee is, a lot of folks still miss the old one on North State Street, and even granting the Reservoir-area community standing, the boat-slip-with-bar vibe of the Dock hardly qualifies it as a friendly little tavern down the lane.

Aside from such citified concessions as the parking-lot security guard, Fenian's is just that: a great good meeting spot, even if you happen to be that sole stranger never-met and nobody knows your name. But if they do (and characters like omnipresent Uncle Bob will find you out even if you're just trying to cry alone in your Bushmill's), you might think twice before trudging here to drown your sorrows in solitary: there's always the risk of running into dejected ex-paramours and detested ex-amigos in a place this cozy, well-liked and (for these parts) unparalleled.

Then again, if it's Tuesday and you're feeling sociable in the extreme, you can bring your guitar, harmonica, harpsichord or hurdy-gurdy and take part in the area's most consistently interesting open-mic night. It's the perfect rough-edged counterpart to the eclectic Fenian's roster of working acts—Bounds Street or any of bandleader Tim Avalon's spinoff projects, to name a dozen or so. Amateur singers and players who've knocked around some know that intense-looking Larry, with his Beatles songbook and 100-something originals, is for all his quirks, as good as you're likely to hear anywhere. Buy him a beer sometime and get the scoop on how the Walrus wasn't Paul or why, to the kids of '66, John really was bigger than Jesus.
— James Hughes

NEIGHBORHOOD BAR:
Second place: Cherokee Inn (1410 Old Square Road, 362-6388) and The Dock (287 Dyke Road, Ridgeland, 876-7765) (tie)
Third place: Hal & Mal's (200 S. Commerce St., 948-0888) and Martin's (214 S. State St., 354-9712) (tie)
Good showing: Time Out Sports Café (6270 Old Canton Road, 978-1839)

DROWN SORROWS:
Second place: Martin's (214 S. State St., 354-9712)
Third place: The Dock (287 Dyke Road, Ridgeland, 876-7765)
Good showing: Cherokee Inn (1410 Old Square Road, 362-6388)

OPEN-MIC NIGHT:
Second place: Seven All Arts Café (206 Capitol St., 355-0577)
Third place: Tuesdays at 930 Blues Café (930 N. Congress St., 948-3344)

Best Hotel Bar: Fitzgerald's Martini Bar, Jackson Hilton (1001 E. County Line Road, 957-2800)
Actually, of course, the rumor is that the Edison Walthall is nice, the drinks are lovely, the bartender lively, the ivories tickled. No complaints. But what Fitzgerald's, the Hilton's lobby bar, lacks in outright décor (it's kinda sitting out in the lobby of a Hilton, and one that isn't quite on the Historical Register), it makes up for in outright Joanna Parks-ism and Andy Hardwick-ness. They have drinks, they have chairs, and it just doesn't matter because the music is uniformly toe-tappin' great. The only problem? It's a hotel, and who knows who is meeting whom, and sometimes they don't realize what, exactly, they're talkin' their way through with their pearly throats set to 11. Weeknights probably work better, although make a mental note: Best avoided during a John Deere convention.
— Todd Stauffer

Second place: Edison Walthall (225 E. Capitol St., 948-6161)
Third place: Hunt Club/Ramada South (1525 Ellis Ave., 944-1150)
Good showing: Sam's Lounge (Best Value Inns & Suites, 5035 I-55 N, 982-1011)

Best Place to Hear a Band: Hal & Mal's (200 S. Commerce St., 948-0888)
I saw B.B. King there when I was 17; has the statute of limitations on underage drinking run out? I celebrated my high school graduation in the "Big Room," where I danced with my mom and contemplated the next scary step into adulthood. I took my dad to see the North Mississippi Allstars there, and as the band's 21st-century interpretations of old blues songs bridged generations, so did we. I've played music on each of the three stages, usually while enjoying a muffaletta or Soulshine pizza between sets. Most importantly, it was the place where I danced with my amazing, wonderful girlfriend for the first time.

Malcolm White's little warehouse experiment has become an indelible part of this great town's culture, politics and cuisine. I can't say for sure that Hal & Mal's is as special to everyone else as it has been to me for all of these years. But to anyone who visits, I guarantee great music and a better time than you or I probably deserve.
— Scott Albert Johnson

Second place: The Dock (287 Dyke Road, Ridgeland, 876-7765)
Third place: Martin's (214 S. State St., 354-9712) and 930 Blues Café (930 N. Congress St., 948-3344) (tie)
Good showing: The Mad Hatter Cafe (306 E. Jefferson St., Clinton, 926-2002)

Best Place to Shoot Pool: The Green Room (444 Bounds St., 718-7665)
The decor is eclectic and, yes, the walls are green. On one wall hangs a Norman Rockwell print declaring "Billiards is easy to learn." Here, at the Green Room, billiards—or pool to us commonfolk— rules. The billiards club/smoky bar contains 16 tables: two Diamonds, four A.M.s, one Gandy, nine Eagle Bar tables—whatever all that means. You know if you're supposed to know. The joint also has a lot of stuffed animal heads and brass light fixtures over each table. It is open seven days, Monday through Saturday noon until whenever, Sunday 3 p.m. until whenver, bartender Will Johnson tells me with pride. They recently added a new dish to the burgers, fries and hot wings: a chicken and vegetable teriyaki plate. He expects they'd make it for me without the chicken. This is a family-oriented place, he reminds me: any age is welcome, although they certainly card for alcohol. "We don't have trouble in here," Johnson said.
— Donna Ladd

Second place: Cherokee Drive Inn (1410 Old Square Road, 362-6388)
Third place: Joker's Tavern (4637 McWillie Drive, 981-3041)

Best No Cover Night: Fenian's (901 East Fortification St., 948-0055) and Jazz Thursdays at Hal & Mal's (200 S. Commerce St., 948-0888) (tie)
In the summer of 1993 Cristos' Deli in Belhaven was the only place in town to get Guinness Stout on tap. Several nights a week, Beaux Miller would pour me and my friend Alex a pint, and we'd sit on the patio with no one or no music inside. We hoped they'd one day fix the train that was to run along the ceiling to give us that "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" feel. We seemed to be the only people drinking the most Irish Stout in town. When the tap runs slow, getting to the dregs of the keg, you get no cascade, just the most stale, flat-tasting and face-making syrupy swill you've ever tasted. If we didn't finish off the keg that night, it'd be there for us the next.

But the ambience and company was great. Good vibe and never a cover charge. Slowly it became known as the place to get a Guinness Stout on draft. Just before Celtic Fest one year they latched onto the whole Irish theme, and Fenian's was born. After Celtic Fest or Mal's St. Paddy's parade, you'd go there for the Guinness, whiskey tasting and some really great regional musical talent: Irish and Scottish music, singer/songwriters, folk, open-mic night. They even got the train on the ceiling working. They run through the Guinness so fast its always fresh and cascading from silt to black into a nice creamy head.

Being able to meet up with your friends after hours, for food, drink and good music, has always been the keystone to the Hal & Mal's restaurant. On a Wednesday or Thursday you can hear better area jazz than your cheap ass probably deserves. Save a few bucks to tip the band and waitress. It's sultry, often free form enough for anyone with a kind smile and a harmonica to sit in for a round. Thankfully, for those on a budget, good conversation comes cheap.

When I'm broke and have but a minimum to spend on drink, I know I can have a great time, pay no cover, and hear some of the best music in town on a Monday or Tuesday at 930 Blues Cafe, or Hal & Mal's in the restaurant Wednesdays and Thursdays, jazz Saturday at Julep, or anytime Fenian's is open. Never a cover.
— Herman Snell

Second place: Tuesday at 930 Blues Café (930 N. Congress St., 948-3344)
Third place: Jazz Saturdays at Julep (Highland Village, 362-1411)

Best Dance Club: The Dock (287 Dyke Road, Ridgeland, 876-7765) and The Forum (6107 Ridgewood Road, 899-4805) (tie)
OK, fully risking pissing off one of these winners—and fully realizing that they're both due for closing or major overhaul so they'll get over it—this former club deejay is going to use this opportunity to tell Jackson what's wrong with our dance clubs. Much of the music is too Top 40, too dated (not as in old music, but as in "it sucked the first time"), too overplayed, too techno (time to move on from the early 1990s), too white (either music or clientele), too black (ditto), too suburban (you know who you are), not creative, not mixed well enough. Or the dance music is wedged between bad sets by bad bands.

In other words, we need a good dance club in Jackson. A club with a huge dance floor and then a smaller one tucked somewhere for more creative mixes of music. Preferably one like my old favorite in Denver—I forget the name—where all the hipsters parked their Vespas out front, everybody got sweaty to mega-mixes on the main floor, and the hippest crowded their sideburns and go-go boots into the little downstairs room to hear a gay couple mix some of the freshest mix of music you'd ever hear on one floor—from indie-experimental to Al Green, from Aretha to the newest rap, from rockabilly to a little ironic country with a mere dash of techno and Latin thrown in for accent. It was fresh, and tres hip.

I am encouraged by the arrival of 105 Capitol downtown because it's downtown; let's see what fresh dance music they can roll out to expand their audience in upcoming months. — Donna Ladd

Second place: Crazy 8s (closed) and Jack & Jills (3911 Northview Dr., 982-5225 (tie)
Third place: 930 Blues Café (930 N. Congress St., 948-3344)
Good showing: Freelon's Bar and Groove (440 N. Mill St., 353-5357), Hamp's Place (3028 Northside Dr., 981-4110), Barrio Antigua (4312 N. State St., 366-0191) and Stardust (2624 S. Gallatin St., 949-7565)

Best Bartender: Dynnea Edwards, The Dock
I'm not exactly a Dock Rocker, but I must admit being pretty happy that a chick won Best Bartender. In this business, like so many of the others, men have tended to dominate—although that's certainly changed in recent years in places like New York City where tough-girl beer-slingers have rather taken over in a world where you can make a lot of money off of guys who stand around hoping you might suddenly jump on the bar, pull your bra out from under your top and sling it their direction. Hey, it happens, but not nearly as much as the boys would like.

But, I digress. I went to see Edwards in action on a recent Thursday (Ladies' Night) at The Dock. A bartender there for more than eight years, the pretty blonde is clearly a fixture in the place. Her corner of the bar seemed to fill up the fastest, and she can handle a bottle. Mostly, though, one could tell how much her clients—especially the ladies—liked Edwards. Regular Kim Jenkins of Jackson said, "She always takes care of us, every time we come here." Her friend Dana Evans of Ridgeland added, "We always go straight to her. No one else." Edwards' said her most common cocktail order is a Big Red: Seagram's 7, cranberry juice, Sprite, shaken, strained.

Imagine, all this, without ever taking your bra off.
— Donna Ladd

Second place: Chubb Turman (Martin's), Valerie Alexander (Fenian's) (tie)
Third place: Beaux Miller (various), Lance Lawrence (Cherokee Drive Inn)
Good showing: Robert Arender (Martin's) and Matt Bruner (Bravo!)

Best club deejay: Terry Edwards, The Dock
When I told Terry Edwards that he was a finalist for best deejay in Jackson, he was shocked and clearly thrilled. Edwards has never spun records anywhere but The Dock—and The Dock isn't exactly a showcase for deejay talent. You basically play between band sets, which is a real pain-in-the-ass way to spin records. It's not your show, even though often women will much prefer you to the band, if you play stuff they like to dance to and, I suspect, if you have Edwards' dark good looks and intense eyes.

Edwards, the brother of Best Bartender Dynnea Edwards, is not really the Best Deejay in Jackson; honestly anyone around would be hard-pressed to beat second-place winner Phingaprint when it comes to sheer skill on the turntables; likewise Tam and Allen are expert turntablists. Edwards admits that he doesn't really even mix music very much.

But the thing that struck me about Edwards is that, like his sister, he seems to be a genuinely nice guy. He also writes poetry and music and, before I left him at The Dock, asked me how he can meet some people on the music and spoken-word scenes in the city. I told him to come to a Lounge and start getting to know other creative folks. There are a few deejays I'd love to introduce him to as well. Hopefully, Edwards will be a vital part of Jackson's creative scene. It couldn't happen to a nicer (or cuter) guy, from what I can tell.
— Donna Ladd

Second place: DJ Phingaprint (various)
Third place: DJ Tam (rave) and DJ Allen (Jack & Jills) (tie)

Best Wine Selection: Bravo! (Highland Village, 982-8111)
According to Marvin Shanken and Thomas Matthews, editor and publisher, and executive editor, respectively, of Wine Spectator, "wine drinkers are crucial to restaurants' survival." If that statement is true, Bravo! will survive and survive well. Bravo's wine list has again earned Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence with its extensive selection of California wines.

The Wine Spectator awards are for the quality of the wine list and the restaurant's passion for wine. Food is not considered. However, Jackson Free Press readers know their food and their wine as they picked Bravo second in the Italian food category as well as No. 1 in wine selection.

Interestingly, there was a three-way tie for second in wine selection: Nick's, Shapley's and Bruno's. Nick's and Shapley's are both Award of Excellence winners according to the Aug. 31, 2003, issue of Wine Spectator with Shapley's receiving the Best of Award of Excellence, the only restaurant in Mississippi to hold this distinction. One other Jackson-area restaurant not chosen by readers that holds the Award of Excellence is the Parker House.

Shanken and Matthews have another goal—to have restaurants lower their wine pricing in order to attract more customers. While I have certainly been in restaurants where a couple of glasses of wine moderately priced at retail were ridiculously high, I have not found Jackson's Wine Spectator winners to charge unreasonable amounts.
— Andrew Scott

Second place: Nick's (1501 Lakeland Drive, Suite 101, 981-8017, Shapley's
(868 Centre St., Ridgeland, 957-3753 and Bruno's (closed) (tie)
Third place: Char (Highland Village, 362-5313)

Best Beer Selection: Lager's World Grill & Draft Emporium (6111 Ridgewood Road, 956-3416)
The Rev. Alex Slawson gave me my beer snob license, when in the early '90s he served as the ordained minister of brew over the Little Five Points, Atlanta, chapter of Good Times. I believe I was the one that baptized him, but that's another story.

I have been to the river of International Brew Pub where you can peruse the beer menus for a long time and never pick Samuel Adams. The Rev. Alex had beer brewing in his college dorm, and yes my friend, there is beer beyond the ABCs of Mississippi.

When Lager's Beer Emporium opened on Ridgewood (round the corner of Best Buy, County Line), I heard the sound of angels as I entered. The heavens parted the clouds, and my jaw dropped, salivating … I could choose from more than 135 bottled beers and 50 on tap! If your palette feels adventurous, they may have to dust off an old stale bottle, but at least they are there. The true bona-fide beer snob prefers a draft. On draft you can pour a Black & Tan, or taste-test a Hoegaarden Belgian White, or Paulaner Hefeweizen, with a wedge of orange. You can't be wildly adventurous if you have to buy a whole, old bottle you may not like.

Yes, my friends, Lager's lobbied the state to let them bring these brews into Mississippi. You won't find many of them anywhere else, much less on draft. Cheers.
— Herman Snell (a.k.a. JFP Minister of Brew)

Second place: Martin's (214 S. State St., 354-9712)
Third place: Fenian's (901 East Fortification St., 948-0055)

Best Biker Hangout: Hooter's (4565 I-55 North, 981-0480)
We said it last year when Hooter's won Best Biker Hangout, and we'll say it again: "Bikers, boobs. Boobs, bikers." Tuesday is Harley night at Hooter's, and it just can't be helped.
—Donna Ladd

Second place: Shucker's Oyster Bar (116 Conestoga Road, Ridgeland, 853-0105)
Third place: Joker's Tavern (4637 McWillie Drive, 981-3041)

Best Margarita: La Cazuela (1401 E. Fortification St., 353-3014) and On the Border (6352 Ridgewood Court Drive, 977-9447) (tie)
I should never assign myself the category of Best Margarita. Or, maybe I just do it because I know I get to be all snarky about it. You see: I don't often meet a margarita I approve of. Most of them, including just about every one I've had in Jackson, are too weak, too strong, watery or filled with ice. They taste artificial and like cheap sour mix. The right margarita is straight up and potent enough to make your ears buzz a bit, but without tasting like tequila on the damned rocks. Truth told, I didn't like the margs I've had at our winner, La Cazuela, and they perturbed me the first time I asked for my marg strained, with salt, by looking at me funny. Of course, most of the other Dixie-Mex spots don't know how to present the perfect margarita, either. All that said, a lot of people like the margaritas at La Cazuela. Clearly. So who am I to argue? Oh, and I haven't been to On the Border. It's a chain, and too far away.
— Donna Ladd

Second place: Las Margarita's (1625 E. County Line Road, Suite 120, 957-7672)
Third place: Cozumel (400 East South St., 973-3455)

Best Martini: Bravo! (Highland Village, 982-8111)
Nothing says swank like a martini. My personal preference is a dirty gray goose, straight up, but if your poison is more luscious or eye-appealing, then the bartenders of Bravo will happily oblige. With strong showings in other "Best of" categories, Bravo proves still to be a top hot spot in Jackson for food, drink and atmosphere, and in my opinion mixes a mean gray goose. Bruno's, which won best martini last year, sadly, closed this year, but nostalgically placed second in Jacksonians' hearts. And the city's third place winner, Elixir, a virgin on the new restaurant scene, gives swank a whole new meaning. Located in Lefleur's Gallery, you have to go check it out; it will make you fall in love with our city all over again.
—Beth Smith

Second place: Bruno's (closed)
Third place: Elixir (4800 I-55 North, 981-7896)

Local Band Name: Living Better Electrically
Living Better Electrically is that one cool kid in your junior high class, the one that told the vice principal to go to hell and wore chipped black nail polish and a ripped jean jacket with a Scary Monsters button on the collar.

They're fronted by the Brothers Clark: Joshua, whip-thin, hand on microphone, bracelets up to mid-forearm, "Glory fades" burned in Latin just a little higher up; Jakob with brow furrowed, grin creeping out as a flood of notes slide out of stacked amplifiers. Jody sits behind them, a kindly giant on drums, curls flung left and right; Adam to the right, guitar in hand, blonde and aloof as Nico; Chris jammed in the corner, hunched over a keyboard that was old when he was born.

Sneak in at sound check, and you might hear a little AC/DC; but the boys are glam at heart, without the glitter—or so much of it—and the dense swirl they create has more to do with Bowie that Bon Scott. Living Better Electrically is not just rock and roll: they're a style gestalt. —Gorjus

Second place: The Overnight Lows, The Vamps and Spank the Monkey (tie)
Third place: 24/7 • Good showing: Eddie Cotton and the Cotton Club

Best Coffeehouse: Cups (several locations)
"I only drink socially." "I don't have a problem." "Everyone else is doing it." Coffeehouses have become the new drive-in or roller rink. Just as the CD is the new 8-Track, the DVD is the new VHS, and so on.

Cups is again Jackson's pick as the No. 1 coffeehouse in the area. The Northpark mall location, where I grew up sitting on the big couch with friends watching the nauseatingly ardent shoppers go by while we just lounged, sipping our café mochas, without a care other than the whipped cream residing on the tips of our noses. The Fondren Cups, where I spent my summer lunch breaks, reading, as I watched the regulars trail in to get their "usuals" and do their beautifully crafted "usual" things. The Lakeland Drive Cups, where I spent infinite summer nights and exchanged what seemed like endless gestures, words and laughter. Every day I pass there, trying to fight the urge to stop in, pick up the latest papers, drink a Blondie and escape the world.

Coffee has become more than a drink; it is now a lifestyle. A lifestyle of intellectual glances, sipping as you read beautiful words, and friendship. Friendship—that dying relationship that has been revived by simply sitting around, gripping a white foam cup with the word "Cups" written in black cursive ink across it. C-U-P-S, four black letters on a blank white surface: simple, uncomplicated and intoxicating.
—Jessica Kinnison

Second place: The Artery/Art of Coffee
(3220 North State St., 366-3032)
Third place: Mad Hatter Café
(306 N. Jefferston St., Clinton, 926-2002)

Best Dessert: Bruno's Eclectic (closed)
JJKinnison: hey
Ebruss427: hey! whats up?
JJKinnison: just writing some articles
JJKinnison: would you mind if i asked you a question for one of them?
Ebruss427: haha fuuun sure u can!
JJKinnison: have you ever been to bruno's amerigo or broadstreet?
JJKinnison: obviously yes to broadstreet
Ebruss427: yes broadstreet and yes amerigos
JJKinnison: ok cool
JJKinnison: what are your favorite desserts from those two restaurants?
Ebruss427: i love the mississippi pie from broadstreet and the tiramisu from amerigos! yummy!
JJKinnison: yaay good answers!
Ebruss427: haha thanx!
JJKinnison: can you think of anything in particular that make these desserts better than other places?
Ebruss427: mississipii pie becuz its just from mississippi and we know how 2 make stuff like that haha and amerigos..it tastes good and looks reallly pretty at the same time
JJKinnison: what does it look like?
JJKinnison: either one or both...
Ebruss427: it has like chocolate drippings on it and chocolate just calls my name! haha the tiramisu is really pretty it is in a wine glass and it has chocolate all over it and cinnamon sprinkles
JJKinnison: is it one of those wide-mouthed wine glasses?
Ebruss427: yeahh
JJKinnison: great...just tryin to get a visual so i can paint a picture in my article
Ebruss427: like a crystal one
Ebruss427: ooh awesome! well sounds like a good article!
Ebruss427: but im gettin ready to go to bed! ill ttyl! cya later gurl! luvya! byebye!
— Jessica Kinnison

Second place: Amerigo (6592 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland, 977-0563)
Third place: Broad Street (Banner Hall, 362-2900)

Best Late-Night Dining: Waffle House (various locations)
The repeat winner and still champion.

Second place: Fenian's (901 East Fortification St., 948-0055)
Third place: IHOP (various locations)
Good showing: Que Sera (2801 North State St., 981-2520), and Krystal (various locations)

Best Karaoke: Martin's (214 S. State St., 354-9712) and McB's (815 Lake Harbour Drive
Ridgeland, 956-8362) (tie)
Karaoke at Martin's is a hit-or-miss affair. The deep back room that's such a great venue for the often-amazing bands that bartender Robert Arender brings to town can feel a little desolate when it's just you on stage warbling "Wichita Lineman" and a few bored souls way over at the bar. On the other hand, a happening session might produce such felicitous moments as R.E.M.'s Mike Mills dropping by in the middle of your rendition of "Shiny Happy People" or a co-ed's raunched-up version of your favorite Pretenders song.

McB's is a more reliable bet for serious singer sorts. The crowd is friendly, the room snug, the sound system—and often the singing itself—downright professional. Tuesday-night deejay Sanford Horton (there's also karaoke on Thursday) says one woman landed a gig at Hal & Mal's after an especially hot performance, and some of the regulars here could hold their own with the live-music offerings of The Dock on an average night. "You're in for a treat," Horton announces midway into a recent Tuesday evening, and a stumpy guy in boots and cowboy hat called, well, Stumpy gets up and delivers (with enthusiastic help on the chorus from a lady friend) a surprisingly fly recitation of that old crowd-pleaser "Pussy Patrol." It's a surefire candidate for the Quirky Hiphop Cover Version A-list.

As Horton says, "When you get up there and do a song, it may not be the greatest version in the world, but nobody is gonna do it exactly like you." What's the most-karaoked song of all time? "Crazy," according to experts in the field. Hard as it is to picture anybody going all individualistic on that classic tearjerker—especially considering how little space prerecorded backing tracks leave for self-expression—it's also sweet to imagine frustrated crooners all over on the globe, on any sad night of the sorry working week, getting in touch with their very own personal, inner Patsy Cline.
— James Hughes

Second place: New Orleans Café
(1536 E. County Line Road, Ridgeland, 957-2459)
Third place: The Horseshoe (5049 Highway 80 West, 922-6191)
Good showing: Buffalo Wild Wings (808 Lake Harbour, Ridgeland, 856-0789)

Best Pizza: Soulshine (200 S. Commerce St., 961-9312; 5651 Hwy. 25, Brandon, 919-2000)
Pizza is a wild food. It was meant to run rampant through jungles, tearing through the underbrush and savaging small animals that couldn't get away. It was never meant to have a pre-destined set of types. It was never intended for domestication. For Pete's sakes, step outside the pizza box with a trip to Soulshine, Old Venice, Mellow Mushroom or Bravo, all of which are original when it comes to toppings.

Soulshine, the winner of this category, for instance, offers toppings from the traditional anchovies to the more feisty andouille sausage. And don't bother looking at Pizza Hut for cottage cheese, feta cheese, crawfish, hearts of palm, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, meatballs and an assorted mish-mash of "God knows." Combinations at Soulshine include such winners as "the Carnivore," the "Bob Marley" and the "Kitchen Sink." At Soulshine, you'll also find pesto sauce, BBQ sauce, garlic ranch sauce, alfredo sauce and whatever suggestion you hurl to the cook when placing your order—all served up by cool-talking, skater-boy types whose pants hang all over 'em like Haley Barbour's boxers.
— Joe Jackson

Second place: Old Venice (1428 Old Square Rd., 366-6872)
Third place: Bruno's (closed)
Good showing: Mellow Mushroom (275 Dogwood Blvd., Flowood, 992-7499) and Bravo (Highland Village, 982-8111).

Best Casino for Gaming; Best Casino Bar: Ameristar (Vicksburg)
My Mama was 78 on Jan. 23. Neither one of us can remember how old she was the day we first went to gamble in Vicksburg, but we don't have any trouble remembering our way to the Ameristar, our favorite Vicksburg casino for many years. Among the reasons we like the Ameristar: the ceilings are high, for the most part there's plenty of room between the rows of machines, and there's always a great band playing at the Cabaret Lounge on the bottom floor or upstairs in the Bottleneck Blues Bar. Plus, as Mama has said many times, we've never once met an employee in a bad mood. The Bottleneck Blues Bar is a picturesque area at the stern of the boat, decorated with folk art, playbills and chandeliers. Inside, you can play the slots, watch big-screen TVs, enjoy delicious food from Stroll Food and live music, like Best Musician Eddie Cotton.
— Lynette Hanson

BEST CASINO FOR GAMING:
Second place: Golden Moon (Choctaw) • Third place: Isle of Capri (Vicksburg) • Good showing: Silver Star (Choctaw), Beau Rivage (Biloxi), The Grand (Gulfport)
BEST CASINO BAR:
Second place: Golden Moon Lounge (Choctaw) • Third place: Brew Pub at Beau Rivage (Biloxi)

Best Casino for Shows: Beau Rivage (Biloxi)
Mama and I have been to the Beau Rivage once, to see "Riverdance." We did it on a whim, really, on our round-about drive back from Charleston, S. C. After an a la carte lunch in the parking garage (out of the cooler in our trunk), we plunked down what for us was mega-bucks (a little over $200) for a room-and-show package for two. Our room was beautiful and on the Gulf side of the hotel. Our seats for "Riverdance" were on the second row.

Our favorite casino, the Ameristar, came in second. That's where we both used our points to see Ricky Van Shelton, and I used mine to see Ricky Skaggs—it was a two-Ricky month. Third place went to the Silver Star (where we used our free Pearl River Rewards tickets to see Percy Sledge recently).

You have to understand, though, that the best shows at both are for free, no gambling needed to earn points or tickets. We absolutely love BB Secrist and the Rockin' 88s at the Ameristar's Cabaret Lounge; in fact, we have counted down the last two New Year's with them and huge crowds of revelers. And at the Silver Star, you can't beat the Glen Parker Band, at the Blue Note Lounge down at the hotel entrance end of the casino—smooth soul, R&B and jazzy instrumentals until the wee hours. The guys are easy on the eyes, too.
— Lynette Hanson

Second place: Ameristar (Vicksburg) • Third place: Silver Star (Choctaw)